A parabolic lenticular collimating film system includes at least one film which is at least partially transmissive and one or more parabolic structures on a surface of the film.
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1. A collimating film system comprising:
at least one film which is at least partially transmissive; and one or more parabolic structures on a surface of the film wherein the one or more parabolic structures have an outer cross-sectional shape which substantially matches a formula of Z=A* X2 where z represents a function for the one or more parabolic structures, X represents a cross dimension of the one or more parabolic structures, and A represents parabolic constant ranging between about 60 mm−1 to about 30 mm−1.
7. A method for making a collimating film system, the method comprising:
providing at least one film which is at least partially transmissive; and
forming one or more parabolic structures on a surface of the film wherein the one or more parabolic structures have an outer cross-sectional shape which substantially matches a formula of Z=A* X2 where z represents a function for the one or more parabolic structures, X represents a cross dimension of the one or more parabolic structures, and A represents parabolic constant ranging between about 60 mm−1 to about 30 mm−1.
3. A display system comprising:
at least one backlight source;
at least one film which is at least partially transmissive adjacent the backlight source, the film having a surface with one or more parabolic structures wherein the one or more parabolic structures have an outer cross-sectional shape which substantially matches a formula of Z=A* X2 where z represents a function for the one or more parabolic structures, X represents a cross dimension of the one or more parabolic structures, and A represents parabolic constant ranging between about 60 mm−1 to about 30 mm−1; and
at least one display panel adjacent the at least one film.
9. A method of making a display system, the method comprising:
positioning at least one film which is at least partially transmissive adjacent a backlight source, the film having a surface with one or more parabolic structures wherein the one or more parabolic structures have an outer cross-sectional shape which substantially matches a formula of Z=A* X2 where z represents a function for the one or more parabolic structures, X represents a cross dimension of the one or more parabolic structures, and A represents parabolic constant ranging between about 60 mm−1 to about 30 mm−1; and
positioning at least one display panel adjacent the at least one film.
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This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/997,442, filed Oct. 3, 2007, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
This invention generally relates to collimating films and, more particularly, to parabolic lenticular collimating films and methods thereof.
Backlighting helps to improve the readability and the color gamut of a display, such as an LCD display. The amount of improvement is at least partially based on the emitted intensity profile of the backlighting so designers look for ways to improve this intensity.
One prior solution has been to place a film containing prisms on the output side of a backlight. This film effectively increases the on-axis brightness of the backlight, at the expense of the lower-valued light that is emitted obliquely and a harsh transition between them. Unfortunately, the emission profile from a prism film is not ideal for all types of displays. For example, the ideal emission characteristics of an LCD television are somewhat broader and having a softer intensity roll-off than that for an LCD display for a laptop computer.
A collimating film system in accordance with embodiments of the present invention includes at least one film which is at least partially transmissive and has one or more parabolic structures on a surface of the film.
A display system in accordance with other embodiments of the present invention includes at least one backlight source, at least one film which is at least partially transmissive, and at least one display panel. The film is adjacent the backlight source and has a surface with one or more parabolic structures and the display panel is adjacent the at least one film.
A method for making a collimating film system in accordance with other embodiments of the present invention includes providing at least one film which is at least partially transmissive and forming one or more parabolic structures on a surface of the film.
A method of making a display system in accordance with other embodiments of the present invention includes positioning at least one film which is at least partially transmissive adjacent a backlight source and positioning at least one display panel adjacent the at least one film. The film has a surface with one or more parabolic structures.
The present invention provides a number of advantages including providing a collimating film which efficiently produces an emission profile suitable for several types of applications, such as LCD televisions, where prism films have been deficient.
A parabolic lenticular collimating film system 10 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention is illustrated in
Referring more specifically to
The parabolic structures 14(1)-14(11) each have an outer cross-sectional shape which substantially matches a parabolic formula of Z=A*X2, where Z represents the parabolic function and is in millimeters, X represents the cross dimension and is in millimeters and A represents parabolic constant. In these embodiments of the present invention, the parabolic constant A ranges between about 60 mm−1 to about 30 mm−1 to obtain emission profiles which improve open those which could be obtained with prism films, although A could have other ranges for other applications. Additionally, in these particular embodiments the parabolic structures 14(1)-14(11) have a pitch of about 50 μm and a peak to valley height of about 30 μm, although the structures could have other dimensions and shapes. As with other types of collimating films, the parabolic film also uses light recycling, and refraction, to obtain its output emission in manners well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Referring to
The operation of the display system 20 with the will now be described with reference to
By way of example only,
Accordingly, as illustrated and described herein the present invention provides a collimating film which efficiently produces an emission profile suitable for several types of applications, such as LCD televisions, where prism films have been deficient
Having thus described the basic concept of the invention, it will be rather apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing detailed disclosure is intended to be presented by way of example only, and is not limiting. Various alterations, improvements, and modifications will occur and are intended to those skilled in the art, though not expressly stated herein. These alterations, improvements, and modifications are intended to be suggested hereby, and are within the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the recited order of processing elements or sequences, or the use of numbers, letters, or other designations therefore, is not intended to limit the claimed processes to any order except as may be specified in the claims. Accordingly, the invention is limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereto.
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